Vanu Sovereignty factions best Sniper.

Depends on which scopes you like the most. The phantom have the 3.4-4x scopes and 1-2x reflex sights. IMO these are horrible as the phantom, like the Ghost, have the sniper rifle sway. The Phantom does however do more damage than the Nyx, but cannot get the laser attachment thus making the Nyx a viable CQC weapon. Nyx though, like the Artemis, does not have any sway which makes it a very potent scout rifle. It isn't a brutish weapon but rather a surgical tool.

So I favour the Nyx with the 6x scope, 7x wasn't quite close enough but 6x works beautifully. Indeed, it makes you feel like an assassin. You can also scope fire without too much effort due to the lack of sway and that the 6x zoom makes quite a lot of difference from 7x.

If the Ghost had shared these qualities I'd be all over that as well but contrary to what some say it DOES have sway, and like the Phantom it has pretty terrible scopes available to it. Ghost and Phantom are classed as sniper rifles, just so people don't get them confused with scout rifles.

Nyx is way better than phantom. The extra damage the phantom does is minor at best - you still kill in 2 hits with a nyx if at least one of them was a headshot and you don't hit your second shot on limbs (so a body shot). Plus you can mount a X6 scope on nyx. Plus you can do laser sight on Nyx which makes it extremely useful for reactionary hipfiring, something the phantom cannot do at all.

And best of all the Nyx has no scope sway unlike the phantom, because the Nyx is a scout rifle. This means its much easier to be accurate at range (as if you are using the nyx at medium/long range, you pretty much want to get at least one headshot in due to the damage reduction that scout rifles have at extended ranges).

The only advantage phantom has is the slightly higher damage, which doesn't affect anything at closer ranges and makes it slightly easier to take targets down at medium/longer ranges. But you're going to have a hard time taking things down at a range with a phantom anyways because it can't mount anything higher than a X4 scope, and you'll have scope sway with it while ADS.

“Why is everyone saying V10 over the XM98? When the in-game stat comparison showing XM98 has same everything just faster reload time. Going by that the XM98 is a no brainier right? Unless I am missing something”

The V10 and Parallax have a higher bullet speed, which is not displayed in the in game stats anywhere.

parallax is the best sniper rifle to me.with it and a good spot you can kill a lot of enemies without getting killed.and the ammo problem can be solved by a squad friend to bring you some. and the parallax is good in hunting moving players.

Granted, XM98 and V10 both perform nearly as well as the Parallax for mid and long range sniping and cost way fewer certs. But if you've got the certs to spend, go with the Parallax. It's not game changingly better, but it's better. More damage, more velocity, and the lower firing rate doesn't matter since you have to wait for your breath anyway.

If you feel like sniping in CQC or from close range hiding spots, Ghost with a lower magnification scope is the way to go. To be honest, though, the starting velocity on the Ghost is so low (500!) that with a silencer it starts to get ridiculous for a weapon that punishes you so severely for missing. Once you get used to quickscoping with a 6x scope, you might find yourself doing better just slapping a silencer on the Parallax and using it in CQC despite the slower refire rate. Plus you get OHK headshots on nanoweave out past the 30m cutoff the silenced Ghost has.

Higher damage then the V10, just as effective at ranges... more effective because of the better damage actually. A 12x scope is the only attachment you'll ever need for this.

2) Ghost :

How can people say this weapon is bad? This weapon is freakin' wonderful! LOVE IT! It is functional in up to mid range with fast chambering and quick reloading, and is deadly accurate. It's true strength lies in the hidden quality of being the only bolt-action (for the VS) that is useful with a suppressor, and perhaps was even designed specifically for that purpose. Why? Because the bullet drop won't have that great of an effect at the distances where a 4x scope will be of use.

For me, this weapon only comes in at #2 because from a functionality standpoint a 4x scope is just not adequate enough to snipe a target at 300+ meters. That said, if I were to rate the bolt actions purely on a "fun-to-use" scale, this would come in right at #1

VA32 (or is it 23?) (aka VS Default)

It's is actually fine all around weapon for up to mid range combat. And can even no scope commando some giving it great versatility that other snipers can't offer.

There's no best sniper, just one that works for you. There's a long and short range variant of both bolt and semi to look at, that should be enough to get you started. The spectre is much, much better than you might think if you're new. Here; watch this review video:

Technically speaking it's easier to hit moving targets with the Parallax because it has (650 m/s), but since you can't 1 hit anybody in the head even with its 800 damage shot, the V10 is just better all around even tho it only has (600 m/s and 750 damage).

The XM98 is the poor mans Vanu sniper, flat out no exceptions, worse than the Parallax and the V10.

The Ghost is a glamour weapon that you use to look cool, end of story - you can make a flimsy argument about a 4x scope, but not really (if you are a good sniper you will be good with this and vice versa, if you suck, that does not make this weapon good).

But, realistically speaking even the best snipers in the game have about 99% of the shots made on non moving targets, any of them will work as long as you are in head/shot range.

No love for the Phaseshift?
Come on people it is so fun to use! you exit cloak, wait for about 10 minutes for the thing to charge, try to hold your breath for all of this time, release the trigger, and watch your round fly and fly and fly and fly and fly.... and then you get perfect head-shot; only to realize that it was over 220m so the enemy walks away...
Just kidding (sort of), I like the Phaseshift and have been using is exclusively since it came out.

“Nyx is way better than phantom. The extra damage the phantom does is minor at best - you still kill in 2 hits with a nyx if at least one of them was a headshot and you don't hit your second shot on limbs (so a body shot). Plus you can mount a X6 scope on nyx. Plus you can do laser sight on Nyx which makes it extremely useful for reactionary hipfiring, something the phantom cannot do at all.

And best of all the Nyx has no scope sway unlike the phantom, because the Nyx is a scout rifle. This means its much easier to be accurate at range (as if you are using the nyx at medium/long range, you pretty much want to get at least one headshot in due to the damage reduction that scout rifles have at extended ranges).

The only advantage phantom has is the slightly higher damage, which doesn't affect anything at closer ranges and makes it slightly easier to take targets down at medium/longer ranges. But you're going to have a hard time taking things down at a range with a phantom anyways because it can't mount anything higher than a X4 scope, and you'll have scope sway with it while ADS.”

This couldn't be more wrong.
A. Phantom no longer has scope sway.
B. 6x scope on a semi scout rifle? It's effective range ends at 75m. If you're trying to snipe with the Nyx you're doing it wrong.
C. One HS and one body shot with Nyx will not kill most targets.
D. 400 dmg/shot with Phantom vs. 334 per shot with Nyx is not a "slight" difference, especially when the Phantom's effective range extends to 200m vs. the Nyx's 75.
F. Lastly, you don't own the Phantom according to the player site. Try using it first

The Nyx is a superb weapon when used correctly between 45-70m. However, you have to be extremely accurate, and it's not a friently weapon for newer players.